Fame and Follies
A decade and a half of faltering. Amitabh tries to essay other roles: politics, then business. It’s mostly bankruptcy that stalks him, even in cinema
1 POLITICAL PLUNGE
Amitabh Bachchan campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls in Allahabad, 1984
3 BUSY B
Amitabh sets up ABCL to give a corporate touch to the disorganised Hindi film industry, 1995
2 FAMILY TIES
Amitabh with Rajiv Gandhi, his wife Sonia and children Rahul and Priyanka, Aug. 1981
4 GRAND OLD BRAND
The superstar-turnedtycoon cashing in on his larger-than-life image, 1995
1984
Rajiv Gandhi asks him to contest the Lok Sabha polls from his hometown, Allahabad. Mrs Gandhi’s assassination reportedly goads him into saying yes.
Nov. 1984
Defeats Hemwati Nandan Bahugana, the stalwart of UP politics, by a whopping margin of 187,895 votes—68 per cent of the votes cast. After a May 1984 release in Sharaabi, stays absent from the screen till flaky hits like Geraftaar, Mard (1985) and Akhree Raasta (1986). Quality-wise, the films begin to go downhill.
1987
Embroiled along with Rajiv in the Bofors scam, Amitabh quits as MP. A year later, returns to focus on films. “No more politics,” he tells india today.
1988
Friend Tinnu Anand casts him as an avenging superhero in Shahenshah, his first release since he bid adieu to politics. It is greeted with political demonstrations but is a hit nevertheless.
1989
His biggest hitmakers deliver a trio of painful duds—Manmohan Desai with Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi and Toofan, Prakash Mehra with Jaadugar. The Illustrated Weekly puts Bachchan on the cover with the headline ‘FINISHED!’
1990
After 21 years, wins his first National Award for best actor—for his turn as Vijay Dinanath Chauhan in Agneepath. The title is borrowed from his father’s poetry; its lines serve as a leitmotif.
Dec. 1990
A Swiss court clears the Bachchans in the Bofors case, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter apologises in a libel case.
1991
January lights up as he dances with a beer mug to woo Kimi Katkar in chartbuster ‘Jumma Chumma De De’; the film, Hum, is a blockbuster.
May 21, 1991
Scrambles back from a defamation hearing in a London court after hearing of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
1992
Khuda Gawah, the year’s second biggest hit, brings on a fiveyear sabbatical. “I felt I was stagnating,” he says. Also, makes first foray into entertainment media with TV Asia, launched in the UK with Pakistani film producer Faisal Shajan and family lawyer Sarosh Zaiwala.
1995
Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd is born. The vision: a Rs 1,000 crore company that brings corporate efficiency to a disorganised film industry.
Nov. 11, 1996
ABCL brings Miss World to India for the first time. Contestants from 90 countries converge on Bangalore but the swimsuit contest has to be shifted to Seychelles as protests drive away sponsors, guests. ABCL deep in the red.
1997
Ends film hiatus with Mrityudaata, a flop. india today writes: ‘Bollywood’s last icon has tumbled…. Where does Bachchan go from here?’
1999
To the graveyard of good intentions, it appears—with Rs 70.82 crore losses, the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) beckons. Bachchan is reportedly in danger of losing old home, Prateeksha.